Gerard Pique has been explaining his decision to retire midway through the season and says he would have done it earlier but chose to delay his decision due to the club’s injury problems.
Barca saw Ronald Araujo ruled out for several months in September after undergoing surgery on a thigh injury, while Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde have also suffered physical problems in 2022-23.
Pique told Ibai Llanos on Twitch that he realized earlier this season that it was time to call it a day but had to wait until the time was right.
“There were a lot of reasons [for retiring] which I had been thinking about throughout the season,” he said.